ADVERTISING AND LANDSCAPE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 94, 22 April 1931, Page 6

ADVERTISING AND LANDSCAPE.

The action of the Railway Department in letting for advertisement purposes part of a bridge near the new Auckland railway station is another unpleasant reminder of the Department's unaesthetic activities. The architecture of the station is admired; a good deal of expense has been incurred in beautifying the approaches; it is a matter of common comment that the new deviation provides a much more pleasing egress from and approach to the citj T ; and the attractiveness of the waterfront road is almost reconciling to the new conditions many of those who have mourned the whole scheme of waterfront development in this area. But if outdoors advertising is to be permitted in and about these railway improvements, there will be a good deal to place to debit account. Where will the Department stop? We may have a double row of hoardings all the way out to the junction at Westfield, so that travellers, instead of enjoying glimpses of the St. John's College bush and the Tamaki meadows, will gaze on flaming adjurations to buy only certain goods. The fact is that the Railway Department is the worst offender of the kind in the country. The other day a number of perfectly reputable citizens in Dunedin, in protest, deliberately hacked down a rural advertising sign erected on railway property, and Ave hope we will not be charged with inciting to felony when we say that the public did not regard them as criminals. When a great Government Department acts like this it is difficult to create a public conscience in this matter of keeping landscapes clear of advertising, yet it is essential, especially where rural beauty is concerned, that this conscience should be developed. The State should lead in this matter, and not be dragged along in the rear.